The verse runsI learned that Washington never told a lie. I learned that soldiers seldom die. I learned that everybody's free. And that's what the teacher said to me. School mythology does not only idealize Washington's personal qualities, but interprets them as a metaphysical foundation of a morally and physically invulnerable nation. This would be a "lie" even if G. Washington had been a true saint. Besides, never lying and being a morally good person are two different things. For example, the fictitious character Hannibal Lecter "does not deign to lie" - many real-life cynics served as models for him.
|